Off-Highway Vehicle Riding

Off-highway vehicle (OHV) riding is one of the major recreational activities in Southern California. Public lands available for OHV use are designated as either "Limited Use" areas or "Open" areas. Vehicles are required to remain on designated routes of travel within all of the "Limited Use" areas; "Open" areas are contained within a formal OHV boundary and permit cross-country travel.

OHVs owned by California residents must be registered with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and must properly display a valid "Green Sticker" or "Red Sticker" registration decal on the vehicle. (Red Sticker riding rules and schedule by area are available on the California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division website at www.ohv.parks.ca.gov/ or by calling 916-324-4442.)

If you are not a resident of California and your OHV is not registered in your home state, you are required to have a "Nonresident" OHV permit, issued by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, to legally operate your vehicle in the state of California. The Nonresident decal is to be displayed in the same location on the OHV as that specified for California Green sticker registration decals.

These Nonresident permits ($30 for one year, for each OHV) may be purchased in a variety of ways, including;

(1) from the Wells Fargo Country Store (72129 Baker Blvd.), in Baker, California, just off Interstate-15, between Barstow, California, and the California-Nevada state line;

(2) for Nevada residents living in the Las Vegas area, Nonresident permits may be purchased at the "Rip Cove" motorcycle store in Henderson, Nevada;

(3) nonresident permits may be purchased at Dumont Dunes from an authorized vendor on major holiday weekends (Thanksgiving, New Year's, and President's Day); and

(4) nonresident permits may be purchased by writing to California State Parks, Non-Resident OHV/OSV Permits, P.O. Box 942896, Sacramento, CA 94296-0001. Questions or comments may be directed to the OHMVR Division by calling (916) 324-4442.